“Russian Five” is a Glens Falls movie

Adirondack Film Festival

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Adirondack Film Festival

Dave Casey (right), Trevor Strader (left) and director Joshua Riehle were part of a panel discussion about the movie “The Russian Five” Saturday.

By Ken Tingley

The subtext for the movie “The Russian Five” is a little different for those of us who live in Glens Falls.

It means a little more because hockey became this city’s identity for a time and the players who would go on to National Hockey League careers and have their name etched on the Stanley Cup started here.

They were not only cheered here, but nurtured here.

Many came back to live here.

The Adirondack Red Wings’ fans  know their names: Slava Kozlov, Chris Osgood, Darren McCarty, Kris Draper and their first hockey announcer Dave Strader. All lend their voice to this documentary that is about more than just sports.

Long-time hockey trainer Dave Casey, who still coaches over at Glens Falls High, was part of a panel discussion after the movie and thanked all the fans who followed those players.

“They appreciated it,” Casey said. “It’s why so many of them came back to live here.”

The movie is great and more than one audience member said as much despite not having much of an interest in hockey.

There is geopolitical intrigue, the struggle of an American city, the impact the Russian players had on the style of play in the National Hockey League and of course the obligatory chase for a championship that ends in tragedy a few days after winning the cup.

But for those of us that lived through the Adirondack Red Wings era, it was great to see some of those old heroes.

It was especially great to hear the voice again of one of our own - Dave Strader.

Dave started his broadcasting career with the Red Wings and made it to the NHL while raising his family in Glens Falls.

He was part of the noon time basketball crowd I played with over at the YMCA for years. The pressbox at the Civic Center is named in his honor after he passed away four years ago at the hands of cancer.

So it was appropriate that his son Trevor, who is playing an integral role at this year’s film festival, should introduce “The Russian Five” Saturday, then moderate a panel discussion with Casey and the film’s director Joshua Riehle.

Dave Strader’s observations are sprinkled throughout the film.

Riehle spent the day with Dave at his Glens Falls home during production of the documentary.

“He gave us so much good stuff,” Riehle said by Zoom. “Whenever we needed something, we went back to look at the transcript of Dave, Jeff (actor Daniels) or Darren (player McCarty).”

At one point, Trevor pulls up a slide of the score sheet from the Red Wings’ October 22, 1995 game with the Calgary Flames. It was the first game that the five Russians played together for the Red Wings.

“My dad knew it was going to be significant,” Trevor said, and he explained how his father had the Calgary public relations guy go down and get the five players to autograph his program in the locker room after the game.”

Two years later, the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup - Trevor and his mother were there too - and then two days later, two of the Russian players were seriously hurt in a tragic limousine crash. Vladimir Konstantinov would never play hockey again. He still has trouble walking and speaking.

In his absence, the Red Wings rallied and won the Stanley Cup the next year.

The film is still mostly a sports movie, but I’d like to think of it as a Glens Falls movie. From the players to the coaches and Red Wings executives like Ken Holland and Jim Lites who often visited Glens Falls. It felt like watching family members who made an incredible journey.

It was a good choice for Glens Falls and one that should be shown to every future generation in Glens Falls.